Dura flints-- They first appeared on the market in 1995. To some it conjurs up images of a man made flint. However, to those
folks who have used them, they know what they are capable of. They are made of a semi-precious gemstone, and they are HARD!
So hard in fact you need a diamond file to sharpen them. In the photograph below you will see 4 duraflints of varying sizes
that we have. This is to show some of the different sizes available. The quarter was shown to give you perspective and relative
size.

When I first saw the advertisements in the outdoors magazines I secretly hoped these flints would hold up as well as the
advertising said they would. They come with a guarantee that they will not break or wear out for 5 yrs. We have one flint
that was in the original set that has been fired over 3000 times and is still going strong! This set is now 6 yrs. old and
counting. From the time Doug & I got into flintlocks in 1992, we had a very hard time finding quality flints. It became
a crap shoot trying to find good flints. Now let me say that we live in an area that flintlocks are not the preferred ignition
system so most of our supply buying is done through mail order. With that in mind our flints were from bad to worse. Some
would fire the gun once per side before shattering. The best ones we ever got before duraflints held up for about 15 shots
a side. To me that was just unacceptable and expensive shooting. So we kept on our quest to find better flints. Also keep
in mind that we were shooting T/C flintlocks. T/C's lock geometry is notorious for being hard on flints. However, at that
time, we learned everything we know about flintlocks through trial and error as there was no one locally that we could consult.
Then we found duraflints. We purchased our first set and were quite impressed with how they performed. So much so, that we
now own enough duraflints to have at least one (depending on the size of the flint) to go in each flintlock we own and with
a few of the special ordered sizes have a few to spare. We are sold on duraflints and will continue to use them in our flintlocks.
I am not a paid spokesperson for Elkk Enterprises. Nor do I receive any kind of kickback from them. I am simply a satisfied
customer who believes that a good product should be shared with the other flintlock shooters out there so they too can share
in a quality product.

At the bottom of the page I will include contact information on Duraflints. Eric is in the process of building a web site,
however I do not have the url at this time. I do have his email address, phone number and snail mail address. When I have
his website address I will include it both on this page and on my links page.

Several people have emailed me saying that that they hve had problems contacting Elkk Enterprises. Please understand something.
I am not affialated with Elkk Enterprises in any way. I'm simply a customer who likes their products and thinks others should
hear of them. I have been trying to contact them just as others have with no luck as yet. The contact info I list at the bottom
of this page is all I have for them.

The flints shown above beginning with the above left flint are 1 1/4" (these are length), 3/4", 1 inch (white one
on the bottom) and 7/8" inch. They are all 3/16" thick. I don't remember the widths offhand without taking them
all out and measuring them. As you see you can get them as a single edged or a double edged flint. The 2 black flints are
single edged and the 2 white ones are double edged. They are naturally white, however most people are accustomed to black
flints, so Eric paints them black unless you specify otherwise. One advantage to the black flints are that they assist you
in gripping ability. The white ones have a slicker feel and you have to grip them that much more and you will have to tighten
the jaw screw a tad bit more.

When ordering duraflints or any flints for that matter you need to close the frizzen and put the hammer on half cock.
Measure the distance between the jaw screw to the frizzen face and deduct 1/8" to account for the leather. If you deduct
1/8" and the leather is too thick, & making your flint butt up against your frizzen, you can cut a groove out of
the leather back next to the jaw screw to make it more accommodating. You jaw screw will then be able to slide into that groove
you've cut and allow a little more space for clearance. You don't want your flint to touch your frizzen when the hammer is
on half cock. You want about 1/16" clearance. You also want to measure the width of your frizzen and purchase flints
that are as close as possible to your frizzen width.

For those who have never ordered duraflints they come in a set of 4. They are in a special little plastic carrying case
that would fit nicely into a possibles bag. Do yourself a favor and get a diamond file, preferably before the flints arrive
so you have it ready. Another thing to note, USE YOUR DIAMOND FILE WET! If you use it dry you'll find out very quickly that
your file will wear out in no time. We found that out the hard way with the first file we bought. Also another important note.
You must only use WATER on the file. No oil or anything else.

To sharpen a duraflint I will go through the steps needed to achieve a sharp edge on them once you have dulled them. Put
a drop or 2 of water on your diamond file. Position your diamond file on a counter lengthwise. It helps if you have something
on the other end to stop it and you will be bearing down hard on the flints. We position our file in front of the kitchen
sink on the counter and the lip of the sink holds the file in place.

First of all it helps you immensely if you have a pair of pliers or vice grips. Take a piece of leather and wrap your
flint as though you were going to put it in the jaws of your lock. Grasp the leather and flint with pliers or vice grips.
Now once you've gotten the file in place, water on it, and flint and leather in the pliers it's time to sharpen. Keep the
bevel of the flint flat on the file and PUSH AWAY from you! If you've got the flint in the pliers you will find that you have
quite a bit of leverage. Use it to your advantage and push HARD! It will take hard pressure to sharpen them. Go the full length
of the file and repeat. You are wanting to push down and forward at the same time. Don't worry about how hard you seem to
be pushing. These flints can take it. Keep doing this and you will begin to see the water go from clear to milky looking.
That is the tiny particles of the flint itself as its being sharpened. Don't be alarmed and by using the pliers/vice grips
you will be able to really get a good grip of them and bear down without the flint falling out of your hands. With practice
you will be able to achieve a good, sharp edge.

To give you an example of the edge they come with, last year I gave Eric a call. I told him about the rifle I was building
and had him send me a set of flints to fit my lock. The size I needed were the 7/8" pictured above. I wanted everything
there and handy when the rifle was finished. So we got it out shooting, and I counted every shot my rifle was fired from the
first till just before deer season. At that time it had shot 92 times on the same flint. I specifically ordered single edged
flints as I feel they are held in the jaws a little bit better than the double edged are. The flint had plenty of edge left
to shoot the rifle. Upon cleaning my rifle, I would take the flint and leather out and clean them as well. The leather got
the soap and water treatment and then laid to the side to dry. The flint was easily cleaned with fingers under running water,
dried and set next to the leather. (Just my preferred way of doing things) Once the leather was dry I would reinstall the
flint, and put the hammer in the relaxed or fired position and leave the frizzen open. I don't like to store the rifles with
tension on the springs.

With the duraflints hardness, you may find that after awhile your frizzen takes on a polished look. You can remedy this
in one of 2 ways. You can either take a hand knapped flint and fire it in the rifle a few times (if you can find any quality
hand knapped flints), or you can take a piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper and rub over the frizzen. It can be used wet or
dry and probably will work better if slightly wet.

To contact duraflints here is the contact information I currently have. As I said when I get the website address I'll
add it here and on the links page.